Descendants on the Frontline
by ConfusedMinion
Summary: Raised by Dualscar alongside Eridan and Sollux, Karkat had lead a protected life against the horrors that usually befell breeder slaves. After sweeps of conflict a message of peace comes from land, alongside the King's own heirs Gamzee and Kurloz Makara. Karkat is given the task to discover if the offer is genuine and finds himself sucked into the very fate he'd tried to escape.
1. Be the Frustrated Mutant Slave

If there was one thing in the entire blustering universe that was absolutely unnecessary it would be this bulge-fondling excuse for a diplomatic meeting. Pre-diplomatic meeting, to be precise, an unending series of negotiations for an upcoming visit of some trolls of fairly high standing. Very high standing, the crowned princes and heirs apparent of land dwellers kind of importance. Making sure that the accommodations were luxurious was a given, but arguing about exact thread counts of the towels and exactly how many pillows were to be placed for a pile seemed an unnecessarily specific detail to care about.

Perhaps the rise of annoyance was due more to the chill of the floor, or maybe even the painful cramping in his calves; whatever the reason every syllable that spilled from the barely comprehensible Ambassadors mouth made his blood pressure rise.

Eridan was taking the meeting in stride, that was what he was trained to do being the heir apparent for the sea-dwelling kingdom and all, but the systematic tapping of his fingers on his leg communicated to Karkat all he needed to know.

 _Trying to bore us, make us slip. Going to wrap up. Threat assessments?_

Karkat snuck a glance at Sollux, who tapped his middle and pointer finger and twitched his hand in the direction of the other parties guard.

 _Teal, female, suspicious cane. Investigate._

Karkat shifted in acknowledgement before lifting himself to his feet. It was an old song and dance routine the three had established. Eridan would focus on the politics while Karkat and Sollux ran the guard, and how better to gather information then to appear as something most trolls overlooked? Harem slave wouldn't have been the exact position he would have picked, but it gave both Sollux and him an excuse to stay close to Eridan and get close to the officials. The open vest and the slit skirt showed off far more of him then he necessarily cared for, but it was better than the alternative of actually being a pleasure slave.

Still, fuck Eridan, as platonically as possible.

Eyes followed him as he swept between the guests, a well placed hand there to check for a knife under clothes, a quick look of the form to check for suspicious bumps in clothing. They all took it hook line and sinker, too. Flushes on their cheeks, a following hand. How desperate some of them were for attention. It was too simple a method for distraction, and his prey was all too happy to fall for it. He neared the teal who was watching him, tracking his movements.

Except her eyes were not focused on him, they were close but it was always of by some. Of course the new troll was blind, how else would someone smuggle a weapon in? He'd give his guardsmen load gaper duty for sweeps for such an oversight. A guard who's blind? Strange position, but the cane was a clever hiding place for a sword. All he had to do now was prove it, and to do so he needed to get close.

Next to the teal was an indigo of noticeable size, pointedly not looking at him as he approached. Sweat was breaking out all over his skin and the high blood seemed to be trembling from nerves. Excellent distraction material to get his hands on some actual evidence.

"Hey," Karkat breathed, pressing towards the blushing troll. "What's your name?"

The blue blood shook his head instead of answering and Karkat heard some jealous sighs from behind him, so he swung an arm onto the blue bloods shoulder and sat down on his lap. It was gross, the sweat was touching him and it stank like Sollux's unwashed laundry, but he pressed on. The teal seemed distracted by what Eridan was saying, so he leaned forward against his victim and reached his hands behind the blue towards where she was standing.

"You know," Karkat whispered, moving his lips directly next to the others' ear, "my psiioniic friend over there has a thing for red and blue. Do you know what that means?"

His fingers were brushing up the canes shaft, searching for a seam or divot. The blue shook his head and Karkat forced himself not to grimace as he was splashed by the sweat rolling off the troll beneath him. He pushed down his revulsion, he had time to upchuck his lunch later, now he had found something. He traced the line that circled around the canes diameter, and with gentle flicks of his finger he could feel the bottom half move separately of the top. With his objective completed he retracted his hands, and it took every bit of training in controlling his actions that kept him from jumping when a smaller, cooler hand encircled his wrist.

A glance up revealed the teal looking down sharply at him, a suspicious frown stretching her thin lips. He smiled into the neck of his pinned troll and held his hand open in a sign of surrender. She released his wrist and bent to lean over the pair.

"If you could kindly remove yourself from my colleague? I do believe you are making him uncomfortable, and when Equius is uncomfortable he stinks." Her voice, even at a whisper, carried an unmistakable tone of authority. He smiled charmingly at her before rising and taking a step back from his captive, but before taking his leave he whispered very quietly and very pointedly at the mess of a troll Equius was presenting.

"Imagine what his reaction would be like if he watched us together."

Karkat stepped and half danced his way back to Eridan, satisfied that he hadn't attracted extra attention with his conversation. Poor Equius was having a more difficult time with the exchange, as it seemed he had fainted where he was sitting and the teal was struggling to remain subtle while keeping his mass from falling over. He smirked and nodded slightly at Sollux.

 _Suspicions confirmed._

Sollux nodded to Eridan, who then raised his hand and motioned for the other party to be silent. The negotiatorturer looked displeased at the interruption yet made no move to object. He had been grasping at straws for things to demand for over an hour.

"I think we've gone over this matter long enough." Eridan declared to the room. "We will o' course make certain the accommodations for the visitin' Lords is suitable to their standin'. However, your nitpicking is castin' the impression you have doubts about our sincerity for our desire o' peace. I will take this moment to reassure the Ambassador our desires are pure, and look forward to meeting with the Crowned Prince when he arrives. Until then I call this meeting dismissed."

A low murmur broke throughout the room as the spectators and lords talked amongst themselves. Normally Karkat and Sollux would wait until the room had begun to empty, entertaining with other servants and gathering information. Eridan motioned his head as a sign to follow, so this wasn't going to be one of those days.

Sollux moved ahead and held back the curtain dividing the audience chamber and the Royal antechamber, waiting until Karkat and Eridan had walked through before letting it fall. Karkat was already reaching for a actual pair of pants when Eridan let out a distressed yelp followed by a thud. Karkat looked to see Eridan with his face planted on the floor and Sollux not-so-sneakily withdrawing his foot.

"That wath thome meeting ED." Sollux grinned. "I didn't think you would get through it without completely thcrewing it up. I'm imprethed."

Eridan peeled himself to his feet with an undignified squawk.

"Wow Sol way to be a complete and utter asshole about everyfin' ever!" He folded his arms and looked down his nose at Sollux. The mightier-than-thou affect was ruined, however, by the fact they were both the same height when Sollux wasn't slouching, and in order to look down his nose he had to tip his head back to a ridiculous angle. "You're just jealous 'cause I'm takin' the throne. Don' worry about it, it's far more responsibility than you could handle."

"I cannot believe thethe wordth are about to leave my mouth, but I would rather wear thethe ridiculouth panty-hothe and run thecurity then have to run the kingdom."

"Speaking of security!" Karkat said, stopping another argument in its tracks. "Sollux's hunch was right, the cane is a sheath for something. Judging by the thickness of the shaft I would say not much more than a thin blade could fit inside. In other words, the entrance guards fucked up royally."

"Good work Kar." Eridan said, thumping Karkat on the back. The thing about Eridan was that being a sea-dweller and having passed his final molt (which was much kinder to him then it was to Karkat's smaller stature), Eridan was both taller and stronger and often forgot this detail. Karkat tumbled forward from the force and only managed to stay standing my grabbing a nearby chair.

"Thpeaking of thatfths..." Sollux wagged his eyebrows at Karkat, who groaned in response. "What a way to get your information. You really put the moveth on that blue blood. What did you thay that made hith eyeth actually roll up into hith head?"

"I don't think you actually need to know that." Karkat growled. He ignored the 'it must have been saucy' that Sollux retorted with and plowed forward. "The teal is hiding a weapon, and it would reflect poorly on us if we took a cane from a blind person. Also that blue blood is built. I don't think anything less than psionics could bring him down if he were to get into a rage."

"Apparently there were many interesting things in that meeting I missed."

"Hi dual-dad." Sollux greeted as the older troll entered the room.

"So there was a security breech, someone smuggled a weapon into a peace negotiations, and Karkat caused one of our guests to faint. I'm not actually sure I should hand the kingdom over to you three. You know I want to retire, right?" Dualscar was not the kind of troll to openly show affection, and in court he was described formidable at best and pants-shittingly terrifying at worst. For the three wrigglers standing in front of him he could, however, spare a fond smile or two.

"Yeah we know. On a sunny beach with a small hive where you and Psii can spend the rest of time having sloppy make-outs and pailing to death without any pestering grubs to interrupt."

"KK thpare me the mental imageth! I did not need to thee that!"

"Spare me the lip, wriggler." Dualscar ruffled Karkat's hair, much to his annoyance.

"We were discussing how to divvy up security for when the Prince's arrive tomorrow, sir." Eridan explained, spine straight and at attention. Sollux pinched his arm, hard, making him lose his military form. "That hurt."

"And have you decided anything? Or are you still bickering like adolescents?" Sollux muffled his giggles behind a hand as Eridan snapped back to attention.

"We were discussing the gross, sweaty blue blood in their guard. His name is Equius."

"Ooh firtht name bathith already."

"And," Karkat barked over Sollux. "I think if he chose to attack it would take nothing less than a formidable psionic to beat him. The guys a tank."

"Is that so?" Dualscar looked thoughtful. "Do you think you could handle him Sollux?"

"Yeah it thouldn't be hard. He trembled like a wriggler firtht out of molt when Karkat looked at him, the guy will be a puth over. In fact, I call the guardth, all of the guardth. Me."

"Feeling a little over confident Sol?" Eridan sneered.

"I'm thecurity, ED. It'th my job to handle the guardth. I know you're a little thlow, I've only been your perthonal body guard thinthe we were old enough to walk."

"Enough!" Dualscar commanded, glaring both into submission. "Eridan, you'll be in charge of the politicians. You've been trained to play their games, and Sollux has enough mastery over his psionics to contain several trained fighters. Now that just leaves Karkat and the Princes. I want you to get as much information from them as possible, on the chance their intentions are not as well placed as we hope."

"You want me to handle the Princes?" Karkat asked, not even trying to keep the disbelief from his voice. "This is a mistake, a festering mistake that will curl up in a corner and attract attention with the stench of its fetal rotting carcass. I am in no way familiar with pillow talking royalty and of any kind."

"You are a talented information gatherer, and you are well prepared to manipulate information out of the younger one. According to talk around the nobility he's not entirely there, easy to take advantage of. You'll just need to get around the elder of the two, who has been known to be protective of the idiot." Dualscar paused.

"We have no conformation for this, but word has it that one of them possess chucklevoodoos. My finger is on the oldest, Kurloz. I know you are resistant to the psychic abilities of others, but you've never been around this type of mind-fuckery before. Therefore under no circumstances will you be alone with him, ever. You must not talk to either of them of your real status here in this kingdom, the land dwellers are much less kind to mutants and lower bloods then we are. If they knew how important you are then you will become a target."

"This still sounds like a terrible idea." Karkat grumbled.

"It actually really doeth. I don't like it." Sollux leaned into the smaller troll. "Thith plan hath my doom thenthes tingling all over."

Eridan looked over to the two uneasily before glancing back at Dualscar.

"Isn' there anyone else who can woo the Princes?"

"The mission is dangerous," Dualscar acknowledged, "and if I had anyone who was better qualified for the job then I would pick them. Unfortunately, Karkat is the only one with the resistance to psychic attacks and has a low enough appearance in standing to not be considered a threat."

"I'll do it." Karkat's face was set with a determined frown. "I am the most qualified. If the land dwelling highbloods are up to something then I will find it out. I'm not fucking happy about it, you can be damned sure of that, and I will be reminding everyone of this frequently, and an on my shit list basis."

"There's a brave lad. Now Sollux, Eridan, get out of here and work out your issues. I will not have anything caliginous start while I'm in the room."

A chorus of horrified gagging was the response.

"Out!" The elder's bellow sent Eridan and Sollux from the room, at each others' heels and bickering the entire way. Dualscar just looked bemusedly at Karkat. "They actually think their kismesissitude is a secret, don't they?"

"They aren't half discreet as they think they are." Karkat shrugged. Dualscar huffed a laugh before plopping down into the nearest chair.

"Karkat," Dualscar ran his hands through his hair. "You know I wouldn't force you to do this if it wasn't important."

"It's fairly obvious the dignitaries are not being honest with us. They could have the decency to pretend, at the very least."

"I know you have your methods for information gathering, and I don't want to hear the details about them - you are my youngest and I don't need to know - but you do know your status is just a formality. I know that Sollux took it a bit too literally and is actually _with_ Eridan..."

"They were a caliginous cliché waiting to happen, and of course I know. I would have to be a pan-rotted moron to have lived here my entire life and not have realized that by now, _dad_."

"I'm just worried. Kurloz gives even me the creeps, and I don't want you to use your usual tactics with him. The Makara's have always been bad news, and I'd hate for you to end up like your bearer. Not after all I've done to keep you from suffering that same fate."

Karkat huffed, glaring at Dualscar from the corner of his eyes.

"You never talk about him. Psii doesn't either. I feel there's something important I should know, and you're not telling me."

"It's not a pleasant story, and one I think would harm you more than help at this point in time."

Karkat scowled at him, drawing up to his unimpressively full height and squaring his shoulders.

"I'm an adult, you do realize that?"

"Of course I do. You're not a cranky grub that would nap between my horns, haven't been for years. That doesn't mean that immediately leaving your final molt doesn't make you ready for everything life has to throw at you!"

"You can't just throw me to the sharks and toss a flotation doughnut like an afterthought for my safety! Things don't work that way!"

"You know I wouldn't thrust you into this serious a situation if the lives of an entire kingdom didn't rest on it! As its leader I need to make difficult choices!"

"You can't pick and choose what's best for me!"

"I have to for this kingdom. Someday Eridan will need to do the same, and you will always be in danger!"

Karkat snarled, fury burning in his eyes. What red had begun to fill in, Dualscar noted, shined brighter with the heat of it.

"You cannot hide me under your cape when something you don't like comes anymore! You certainly cannot hide me under Eridan's cape either! The world is going to come after me, and you cannot control or stop it."

"That doesn't mean I can't try to push it back a bit longer. I made a promise to keep you safe for fuck's sake! Like hell I am going to let you become what - if I hadn't taken you with Eridan - you were laid for! You know what other trolls would use you for!"

"I fucking know what happens to trolls like me!" Karkat roared, harsh and loud enough it scratched his throat and left an uncomfortable burn in its wake. When he spoke again his voice cracked from the abuse. "I know what my situation is, but I don't appreciate isolation and being kept in the dark to protect me. You gave me this assignment..."

"Screw the assignment, I'll switch Sollux to it. You'll take some extra members from the guard in case you need to subdue the blue..."

"No!" Karkat cut Dualscar off. "Sollux is going to stay on his task! His psionics make him susceptible to psychic attacks, and if I'm at risk then Sollux is in danger and I'm not going to let anything bad happen to him, either."

"Wriggler..."

"I'm taking the Princes, not Sollux, end of discussion." Karkat glared at Dualscar in a quiet challenge to interject. "I'll get what we need for the safety of the kingdom, but when this is over and the treaty has been signed, I want some goddamn answers. Now I'm going to 'coon."

To say he fled the wouldn't be entirely inaccurate, he hadn't expected the conversation to pirouette off the handle so intensely, and as his anger drained exhaustion took its place. He needed to be rested for when the Princes arrived, and if he heard Dualscar call 'good morning' after him then he certainly refused to acknowledge it.


	2. Attend the Welcome Party

One of the only good things that Karkat found from his position of official harem-slash-breeding slave was that no one ever expected him to be there when visiting parties arrived at the gates. Not only were the greeting ceremonies really boring, but he would have had to kneel at Eridan's feet the entire time. Degrading, subservient, the proper place for a lowly slave. Fuck the system, he was sure Sollux agreed.

"Thothe landlubberth all look weird."

"We're landdwellers too, shithead," Karkat said. "I was pretty sure that theory was proven when Eridan tried to drown you when we were five."

The greeting hall was shaped like an oval that had its top chopped off, the entrance sitting perfectly in the center of the far curvature of the outer wall. It was built as a tactical defensive and offensive point, Karkat had been told during his lessons, to make it difficult to break into as the curve gave the wall it's strength. If an enemy had somehow managed to make it in, then it would work as a choke point to push them all back out again. Along the straight edge of the hall was a massive doorway that led into the main palace, and above the gates was a balcony where one could view the entire area.

This was where Karkat and Sollux had decided to watch over the welcoming, close enough to intervene if shit went down, but far enough away that they would likely remain unnoticed. The robes of state they were disguised in helped with that goal too, nobody really paid attention to a pair of bored politicians.

Sollux had a point, though, Karkat had expected their guests to be more flamboyant.

"They're thothe clown cultithtth, you'd think it would be more like a thircuth in here. I heard from the cookth that they never went anywhere without at leatht a tent in their backpocketth."

"Stop stereotyping you social disaster. Seriously, how you even manage to charm secrets out of anybody remains a mystery to me."

"I'm really good at thucking bulge, you'd be amazed what cometh out of their mouth when they cum into yours."

"Goddamn social pariah, do you have no filter?"

"I would need thame firtht in order to inthtall that extenthion."

Karkat breathed heavily through his nose in frustration when the thunder of a thousand two-wheeled device horns erupted outside the doors. Cultists whooped in revelry as confetti and balloons were tossed around with the entrance of a pair of trolls, both tall and lanky with horns that twisted high above their heads. Both were draped with purple silk and gold, faces hidden by a mask shaped like a troll's skull. One was taller than the other, Karkat noticed, and walked with a more refined presence then the other whom loped behind the other, head twisting around as if to take in everything.

"Heh, Eridan lookth tho unnerved." Sollux said, elbowing Karkat's side. "About time that violet panthy geth a tathte of the joyth of being the actual printhe."

Karkat grunted in response, too focused on studying the new comers. Trolls were moving around at a rhythmic pace, it could be mistaken for a dance if it looked less like they were all convulsing from a mass hysteria seizure. The guards of the palace eyed them suspiciously, and Karkat fumed that some were allowing themselves to be too distracted to pay attention to the Ampora's.

When the two Prince's finally reached Dualscar and Eridan their masks were removed. Both had their faces painted in the style typical of subjugglators, white paint smeared in patterns across their faces. Karkat couldn't make out any exact details, they were much too far away for that, but the slouched ones looked like he could be smiling. Which was super creepy, like all clown cultists tended to be.

As Karkat studied them he noted the differences between the two. They both had messy hair, but the elders was longer and looked as though it had been mussed on purpose. The younger's clothes, on closer inspection, looked more ruffled and wrinkled, as though they had been thrown on without care. He kept moving his head lazily, as if looking for something. Between the two, Karkat felt safe hazarding the guess that the older would be the one conducting negotiations, as he seemed more put together then his younger. Kurloz and Gamzee Makara, these were the trolls he was supposed to get information from.

Dualscar half turned from his guests, motioning towards the entrance of the palace. He would take them to the banquet hall, and this was the cue he and Sollux had to go change into their slave garbs. The brothers turned to follow the Violet regent, and as Karkat made to turn the younger looked up and met his gaze. A smile split the purple bloods face, crawling up his cheeks and alighting his eyes.

 _His vision flickered and then he saw darkness, darkness and chains and a troll looming over his prone form. Narrow lips curved and parted, descending towards his ear. His heart hiccupped, slamming to a halt and then pounding a heavy beat against his ribs, as if trying to open a hole to free itself from... from what?_

 _"Are you ready," the lips asked, breath tingling lightly against his ear, "to part your legs in welcome for the most mirthful of messiahs?"_

Then he was on the floor, blinking up at a concerned looking Sollux. He shakily knocked his friends' hand from where it was papping at his cheek and pushed himself into an unsteady standing position. Sollux followed, offering assistance which Karkat rejected.

"What," Karkat said, then wet his lips, "what happened?"

"You're athking me?" Sollux responded, signaling a nearby guard to follow the Ampora's. "You just feinted, KK. Who even doeth that?"

"I saw- I saw something strange." His heart was still battering a panicked march inside his chest, and he took some deep breaths to help calm it.

"Strange?" Sollux said, tilting his head in a request to continue. Karkat just shook his head, as if to clear it.

"We don't have time for me to explain it, we should already be down in the banquet hall for the feast. It was nothing, past me is just an idiot," Karkat said, whipping down the hallway that led to their preparation chamber.

"If you thay tho," Sollux jogged to catch up, slowing to take one step for Karkat's every two. "Hey, do you think it would be funny if I made Eridan pop a wiggler at the banquet? He geth really exthited when I thtraddle his lap and move my hipth back an..."

"How many fucking times do I need to tell you to install a fucking filter?!"

When they finally stumbled into the banquet Dualscar leveled them an unimpressed stare before motioning them over. Sollux sauntered to Dualscar first, unapologetically grinning at the violet and their guests. Karkat was more reserved in his approach, taking a more graceful approach with solid steps to emphasis his own control. He was not a troll to be trifled with, and while Sollux was fine playing up the spoiled slave Karkat still had dignity he wanted to preserve.

He must have impressed some of their guests as he noted several of the cultists' faces following his path. With concise, practiced movements he bowed low to Dualscar, back straight and bending at the hips until his forehead was nearly touching his knees. Sollux only dreamed to be half as flexible. There were some appreciative hums as he straightened, again at the hips, enough curve in his back to hint at suggestion.

For the banquet there were two table groups employed to seat the entire land dwelling troop as well as the Ampora heads of state. One set was sitting above the other, and of course they were arranged in the double lightning bolt pattern of Aquarius house. The tables themselves were all draped in violet cloth and the tableware was of course made of bone porcelain with inlaid gold. Ostentatious was only the middle name of every Ampora that ever existed.

Dualscar's hand placed itself on Karkat's waist, guiding him to stand at the side of the violets' chair. Sollux was already standing at the opposite hand, surveying the guests with a feigned interest. Karkat studied them from his peripherals, often glancing through his lashes to play coy with anyone who caught his gaze. Behind the dignitaries stood their guard, and Karkat managed to meet the eyes of the shy blueblood from the night before. He smiled coyly at him, adding in a wink before moving his attention onwards. The poor guy looked like he hadn't yet recovered from his prior shock.

Finally he came to the Princes who were sitting across from Dualscar and Eridan. One of them was already watching him with an intensity that made Karkat shift back into Dualscar's hand for like a pupa who needed it's lusus for comfort. The hallucination from before still had his nerves flaring at their edges, and the others' staring made him feel as though he was one of the courses on the table. The violet's thumb brushed his back softly, the only sign of reassurance he could offer in such a public place. Karkat scowled at his own stupidity and met the highbloods' stare with his own furious glare. He couldn't be weak now, not when peace was on the line.

"Crown Prince Kurloz, Prince Gamzee, let me introduce you to my sons' favorite slaves from his harem. To my left is Sollux, a low-level psionic. To my right here is Karkat, a red-blooded mutant and very rare. Say hello, lads."

Sollux, in his typical fuck-the-system way, waggled his eyebrows suggestively before dropping in a half-assed bow.

"Ith my abtholute pleathure, majethtieth, to make your ethteemed acquaintanth." Sollux said, playing up his lisp until he was practically spraying saliva as he spoke.

Karkat had to resist the urge to snort at his open display of insolence, but it was his job to make himself as undesirable as possible to the pair. If they did have psychic powers it was best if they disregarded the yellow blood entirely. As Sollux stepped back to his spot next to the chair, Karkat moved forward with a steady grace and bowed low at his hips, back straight until his forehead was nearly touching his knees. He waited a breath before raising himself by his hips again, arching his back in a manner that was just shy of suggestive before speaking.

"Welcome, my Lords, to our house. I hope you find yourselves most comfortable during your stay."

"Why don't you boys dance some, entertain our guests." Dualscar commanded, clapping his hands together twice. Both Sollux and Karkat dropped into another bow, this time mid waist and equally timed with one-another, before retreating back a ways. They were joined by a few other dancers as musicians picked up their instruments to play for them. The first chord was a low, resonating hum that filled the vastness of the banquet hall. It echoed outward from their centers and Karkat could feel the vibration of it move from his chest into his limbs.

The song they picked to begin with was a moderately paced, upbeat piece that used a flute along with a pair of drums and tambourine to keep tempo and face. It was a familiar song, one that Karkat had danced to many times before. His body moved from memory with the beat so he allowed his mind to wander, taking the moment to actually study the princes up close.

The paint on the younger prince's face was actually done up in a smile, with circles around his eyes and two grey spots on his cheeks. His face was gaunt, like what you would expect more from the slums then from a royal heir. His festival clothing, different from the expensive silks they arrived in, consisted of nothing more than a loose pair of baggy pants that hugged his skinny hips, and a long sleeved tunic which hung loosely onto his frame. It looked as though someone had made an attempt to tame his mane of unruly hair, so instead of looking like a squeak-beasts nest it resembled instead like a product of a hurricane.

The first song ended and Karkat took a moment to breathe, a thin sheen of sweat on his skin. The next song started and Karkat fell into pace easily, dancing had always come easy to him. In order to keep with the steps you had to allow the body to flow together, each limb operating as an extension to the other. Fluidity was key, like water through the cracks, not stopping or hesitating at obstacles in your way.

Working with his sickles was much the same, which he supposed was why when it came to learn the weapon he'd had to no trouble picking it up. Eventually, once he had practiced enough, his muscles would remember the movements and he could allow his mind to concentrate on more important things.

The younger Makara was following his movements, not even attempting to be subtle about his interest. He smiled as Karkat spun and for the time since he could remember he wish he could hold his wrap in place. This ridiculous excuse for a highblood was actually making him self-conscious, and that made Karkat _burn_.

He threw himself into the next dance. Sweat flew off his skin as he undulated his hips to the brutal tempo the music had set. His feet were going to be bruised with how hard he was pushing himself, kicking off the floor to emphasize his lunges, to make him spin faster and his thrusts harder. His clothes were swishing through the air with the near violent force of his movements and he took advantage of that, using the momentum to make them whip and crack around him. His blood sang in his veins and his muscles trembled in exaltation, his pores wept from the strain. He was good at his job for a damn reason, and that was because he never allowed another to best him in anything.

He was Karkat-fucking-Vantas, and no one, not even some psycho prince from a distant clown kingdom, was going to intimidate him into doubting himself.

When the song drew to a close he followed suit with a flourish, propelling himself from a spin and immediately into a low warrior pose. He threw his arms up and back, arching his back until he was almost folded against himself before allowing the tension in his body to recoil his torso forward once more, coming to a rest with his hands on the ground, forehead kissing the floor in a mockery of submission.

Applause erupted from around the room and he drew himself back up again, glaring a challenge at the prince's. The hollers and whoops faded into the back of his mind as he saw the elder prince for the first time. Where the younger was unkempt and almost wild the elder was refined and dignified. Every facet of him echoed grace and poise, he was lean instead of starved. His clothes were tight, purple pants and a black turtleneck, bones painted on as a mimicry of the structure beneath the skin.

Karkat's breath caught when he saw his face. His cheekbones were high, betraying his regality and lineage with their fine sculpt. Thin cheeks accompanied a strong jaw and lips that had black lines tattooed over them in like crooked teeth, but it was his eyes that caused Karkat's breath to catch. He was met with portals of deepest purple, the abyss of the night sky on a winter's night. The question of how many galaxies had been born and died within them crept into his mind and the others' lips twitched in an upwards slant.

"Karkat, I would like you to meet Crown Prince Kurloz and Prince Gamzee. You will be serving them during their stay here," Dualscar said, but Karkat could barely understand him. The news was a surprise even though they had already discussed it and agreed. The only motor function he seemed to be able to conjure was a simple nod in assent. "Will that be suitable to your Lordship's?"

Karkat could not find the will in him to break contact with the other's gaze, even though he was breaking a cardinal rule. Slaves aren't meant to look their betters in the eye, it is a challenge to their rightful authority. Even still, a not unpleasant shiver traced its way up his spine and tingled pleasantly at the nape of his neck as the other inclined their head in a slight nod.

"Yes," Kurloz said, those strange lips forming delicately around the words, voice a velvet baritone. Karkat felt another shiver race through him. "I believe this slave is exactly what I desire to fulfill my needs whilst I stay here."

Karkat swallowed, hard.


	3. Draw Your Own Conclusions

By the time the banquet had drawn to its conclusion the sun had already begun it's festering trek across the sky. Many of the cultists were still celebrating, passing around Faygo and slurring as they jammed poetry with each other. The two Princes were among them and seemed as though they could continue the activities for hours. Gamzee was being particularly active despite the fact that he kept losing his balance during their festivities. The Ampora's had excused themselves not long before moonset, and Sollux had been dismissed from the care of the guards until nightfall. Until the Makara's decided to call it a day, Karkat was stuck kneeling on some cushions and well past ready for 'coon.

He had stuck close to his targets for the entirety of the night, fetching food and drink when ordered and keeping their guests well entertained. He had been fondled more than once, and at times he had to keep himself from upending goblets on some trolls' heads. There was a distinct difference between the customs of the troll delegates from land and those from the sea, the largest discrepancy being just how touchy air breathers were. Unless they trusted you - or were shit faced drunk - sea trolls demanded distance away from their gills.

None of the land trolls seemed to take him seriously, many of them spoke as if he was a slow pupa and others had tossed the word 'mutant' around as if he didn't know its meaning. At one point he had even been pulled into a lap and been cooed over like some sort of domesticated mew-beast. Patience was a virtue Karkat had only managed to learn by virtue of his specific line of work, and it had seemed as if every bit of his training in self discipline had been exercised to not cave and tear someone's horns out of their skull. His fingers twitched at the idea of unmitigated violence towards all the pan-addled idiots in the room, but Psi would be so disappointed in him.

Karkat was resisting the urge to stretch when he noticed Kurloz take to his feet and motion for Gamzee. When the other finally noticed the pair began to pick their way over to his position, and Karkat stood to greet them. He looked towards the floor in bowed submission, waiting for instruction.

"We're all up and ready to get our motherfuckin' snooze on," Gamzee told him. "Lil' mutant-blood should show us to our rooms for the day."

"If my lord's would follow me, then."

Karkat set off from the banquet hall and immediately went for the grand staircase. The princes had been given rooms near the top of one of the castles' spires, with all their staff and guards positioned in the rooms below. The Makara's took the climb with good haste, keeping pace with Karkat without issue. That meant they were fit, though he would have never guess at the sight of their skin-and-bones physique.

The set of rooms they had been given were luxurious, naturally, and took up nearly the whole floor they were on. When Karkat keyed in the code he ushered his masters/wards into a sizeable sitting area with an attached kitchen. There were many lounge-platforms and pillows scattered around, plenty enough materials to make piles and a grub-tube for entertainment. There was a massive window that looked over the land-bridge and bay leading into the castle, but the shutters were drawn to keep the death rays out.

"There are two suites off to both sides of the communal room," Karkat told them as he motioned towards the separate doors. "Each suit has respite block and ablutions chamber, as well as a second room if my lordship's have their moirails or other quadrant mates along. There is also a reading room just past the food-preparation block."

Karkat took the over-robes from both the prince's and hung them on a handle near the door. When prompted Gamzee allowed him to help remove his footwear, but Kurloz declined. When his boots had been removed Karkat set both pairs under the jackets.

"You can control the temperature of your suits separately, there is a control panel just past the doorways, and you can change the entry's pass-lock if you so desire the privacy. If you require my services I will be in the room down the hall, ready for when the Master's require me."

The rooms were too cold for his liking, and his dance-wear was nowhere thick enough nor covered enough skin to help him hold on to his own body heat. Gamzee must have noticed his shivering because he waltzed right over and threw his arm over Karkat's shoulder, pulling him flush against his side. Damn idiot didn't even realize that his blood color meant he was cooler then Karkat, just aggravating the problem instead of helping.

"Motherfucker looks about ready to collapse, maybe you'd all up and like to snuggle up with a blanket and catch some shut eye in one of these piles here." Gamzee looked at him with an odd gleam in his eye, and Karkat had to resist flinching at the eagerness his face was openly displaying.

"Thank you for the offer, my lord. As I said I have a room down the hall, all you need to do to summon me is press the communications button there on the wall, and I will come to aid you." He removed Gamzee's arm from his, as politely as he could, and stepped back out of reach. "Good day, and I will see you both at sunset."

Karkat retreated from the room, not turning his back on them until the door swung shut behind him. The last of the brothers he saw was Kurloz giving Gamzee a reproachful glare. In the hallway he seemed able to breathe easier, and he rolled his shoulders to remove some of the tension in them. He should submit a late report to Dualscar, but he was so tired he could barely see straight as he walked the short distance to his new quarters.

His actual room was in the brood area of the royal courters with the rest of his hatch mates, but in order to make the slave spiel convincing Karkat had volunteered to temporarily relocate. The new block was nothing compared to what he was used to. Eridan would lose his shit if he was cramped up in such a small space, it was less than ten paces from the doorway to the far wall; but it was large enough to contain a decent sized recouperacoon and desk, and there was his grub-top sitting on top of it. In the corner there was an attached ablution trap and load gaper, which was neatly hidden away behind a simple curtain.

He quickly used the gaper before stripping out of his costume, which he tossed to the side, and climbed up the rim of the 'coon. It was pleasantly warm as he settled into the sopor slime, and as he felt the heat soak into his weary body he couldn't help the sigh that escaped him. There were a few hours before evening would come and he closed his eyes. His thoughts were sluggish and his limbs became heavy, and he drifted off thinking about what it must be like on land.

It was mid afternoon when he heard the summons alert chime, and it was with the greatest reluctance he dragged himself out of his slime. He rinsed quickly before dressing; baggy grey pants with a loose red shirt; cursing when the notice beeped again. He paused for only a moment to stare at the bags under his eyes before storming down the hall. Unless he was performing his more intimate services for guests he was typically allowed a full days rest before returning to them, but of fucking course the clowns were going to be different.

He fought to reign himself in as he stopped at the door to the princes' chambers, barely restraining himself from pounding on the door for admittance. Instead he rapped his knuckles sharply against the wood and waited for permission to enter. Several moments of silence passed and he knocked again, and when the third time came he just let himself in, instead. He had barely stepped through the portal when he was greeted by an eyeful of agitated highblood.

"About motherfucking time," Gamzee said, pacing back and forth across the block. "Thought you were supposed to be prompt."

"My apologies," Karkat said, clenching his teeth and forcing his grimace into a smile, "I came with greatest haste. What can I do for his lordship?"

"I need baking supplies," Gamzee said, switching directions and pacing right up to where Karkat stood. "I want to make some bitchtit pies but there ain't nothin' up here for me to work with."

"Pies?" Karkat felt taken aback. He was woken up and summoned for goddamn confectionary? "If you would like some pie then I can call a kitchen attendant up with some..."  
"No motherfucker!" Gamzee was pulling at his hair, glaring at the red blood. "I said I want to make the pies. You must be a dense as fuck sack a' shit if I need to keep repeating myself."

It was Karkat's turn to suppress a growl, dropping instead to a bow to hide the faces he was making at the purple.

"I shall go fetch them at once," Karkat straightened to see the other had begun pacing again.

"Be fucking quick about it," was all the dismissal he received and he had barely closed the door behind him before snarling to the hallway.

"Asshole," Karkat grumbled, stomping down the stairs as he ranted. "Pan-rotted, pie humping, helpless little goddamn pastry fairy of a moron."

The staff was mostly still asleep at this time of day, so Karkat was left ruminating to himself and exchanging the occasional greeting with the guards he came across. Whatever cleaning that had to be done in the great hall would have been completed already, and dinner prep wouldn't start for a couple of hours still. The fact that there was a light on when he entered the pantry confused him then, and when he saw a familiar pair of spiraling horns twisting from a mass of black hair floored him completely. If Gamzee had somehow slipped past him as some sort of stupid prank he was going to flip a table, but the troll that faced him was the other Makara instead.

"Master Kurloz?" Karkat took a tentative step into the storage room. "May I enquire as to what you are doing here, my lord? If you were hungry I would have brought you something."

Which was hypocritical of him to even say considering how pissed he was for being there for that exact same reason, but for some reason it was unnerving to him to see the elder Makara there. The other regarded him for a minute before smiling kindly. He lifted his arms to show a carton of flour and sugar before shrugging helplessly. Karkat bit back a sign and walked over to him, taking the items and placing them into a nearby basket.

"Are you down here for Master Gamzee?"

"Brother needed a pie," Kurloz told him, "but I'm having trouble locating everything he needs for it. This big food box be all like a maze, would be appreciated if you'd mind helping my lost self out."

"Of course Master," Karkat said, motioning for the other to follow. "Again though, all you needed to do was call me to fetch this for you. That is why I'm here, actually, at Gamzee's behest."

He managed to find eggs and salt, but when he went for the fruits Kurloz stopped him.

"No need for any of that, Gamzee uses other things to fill his miracle pies in. He just needs things for his crust and a tin to bake it in." He smiled wider as Karkat furrowed his eyebrows, which caused the purples' face to take on an almost pinched appearance. "Didn't wanna wake you up just yet, considerin' the time we forced you to retire at, I guess I was just movin' to slow for my bro to cope."

"Well if my Lord would like to go back upstairs..."

"No more of that 'my lord' or 'master;' nonsense," Kurloz interrupted, "I was never a big fan a' titles. Just call me Kurloz, 'lot less formal and we can get on better that way."

Karkat tried not to stare too openly at Kurloz, yet he had never been told not to refer to anyone without honorifics before. Highbloods, until this point, had remained consistent that way. It had always been an annoying but easy habit to fall back on, and Karkat felt off balance at the shift of power he'd just been given. Kurloz seemed to sense the redblood's disbelief, so he leaned in and took a firm grip of the baskets' handle.

"I know this is all out of line and shit, but hell, you don't hit me as the kind of motherfucker who pays much on formalities."

He tugged lightly on the basket, relinquishing it from Karkat's grasp. Karkat watched after it, frowning.

"I'm not a weakling, I can carry it."

"I don't doubt that none brother, your clothing don't leave much to a trolls' imagination and I can see those muscles aren't just for showing."

Kurloz winked at him, and Karkat's felt his face start to redden. It took a significant amount of effort to not fiddle with the hem of his shirt. Kurloz stood there, smiling in obvious amusement which prompted a scowl to draw its way across Karkat's face. He snatched stomped away to shove the remainder of the needed supplies into it the basket, Kurloz drifting behind him. Whenever Karkat couldn't reach he items on the higher shelves Kurloz would grab them for him, and despite himself he was beginning to grow comfortable to the others' presence.

It was easy to stay on task and look for things with Kurloz hovering behind him, there was no pressure to socialize and he seemed content to simply watch Karkat gather things. He felt like he usually did when floating in the pool he shared with his hatch mates, a sort of calm weightlessness that could worm the tension from his shoulders and neck. There was nothing to be concerned about, and the monumental task of gaining peace between the kingdoms seemed feasible for the first time. He felt so at peace that his paranoia was beginning to kick in; knowing that Karkat Vantas was an angry, neurotic mess of a troll and whatever he was experiencing at the moment was not in the least bit natural.

That spark of alarm was enough to beat the false calm into a corner and Karkat felt as though he had clawed his way out from under the ground, as if he hadn't enough breath before and his brain was relishing in the expansion of his lungs. He tried to smother the transparency of his sudden alertness, but it proved a pointless endeavor as Kurloz was glaring towards the rooms exit. Gamzee was lurking in the doorway, shifting around as though he'd been caught pilfering the sugar-grub jar. The other highblood kept shifting his gaze from his older brother to Karkat, and he felt as though he could breath freer. Gamzee had been doing something with his mind, and Karkat felt he had good confirmation on the existence of chucklevoodoo's.

"I have the items you requested, sir," Karkat said, stepping in front of Kurloz and breaking the brotherly stare-off. "If it would please your Lord's we can proceed back upstairs and begin baking?"

He lifted the basket from Kurloz and approached Gamzee with it, offering its contents for inspection. Gamzee snatched it from him and rifled through it, glaring at Karkat when he offered as alluring a smile he could manage. When the purpleblood was satisfied he stepped away from the door, allowing space for Karkat and Kurloz to step out of the room. Kurloz seemed to be communicating with his gaze, because Gamzee crumpled inwards with a flinch.

"I thought I told a motherfucker to be quick about it," was all the highblood grumbled before trudging back off towards the stairs. Karkat looked at Kurloz, raising one eyebrow in question. Kurloz only shook his head and shrugged before inclining his head after his brother. As they walked back to the prince's quarters Kurloz kept a running conversation with Karkat, asking about items they passed and about the history of the seadweller's kingdom. Karkat openly answered the questions on things in the castle, but only delivered non-answers and hedged around others.

"Fun story: that vase was a gift to Lord Dualscar in an attempt to broker peace from a rival caste-line. Their blood was a half-hue lower than the Ampora lineage, and felt they had as much right to rule in the stead of the Empress; may her soul continue her bloodthirsty conquest in hell."

Karkat enjoyed telling Kurloz bits and pieces of the events in the castle, and Kurloz appeared genuinely interested in hearing them. It was not often that Karkat had a chance to talk to someone from a truly different background perspective, and the candidness which Kurloz welcomed was a welcome respite.. The purple did not try to press or pry into topics that Karkat actively steered away from, and so the conversation remained light and easy during their long ascent up the tower. Gamzee had disappeared before them, seeming eager to be out of their presence with haste.

He truly did not mind the absence of the younger Makara, though he knew he had a duty to keep an eye on him. His talk with Dualscar and the warning for worry about Kurloz seemed laughable now, as Gamzee had become the obvious threat between the two. Karkat wondered who had delivered the original intel, and if someone had boxed him around the ears yet for doing such a shitty job. Kurloz gave off a weird vibe, one that had Karkat grasping at sucking-tubes when attempting to figure him out, but Gamzee made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Dualscar would be interested in his new observations, but Karkat wanted to make sure it wasn't just first impressions coloring his judgment before he gave his report.

The teal guard was waiting for them outside the prince's door, which was standing slightly ajar. The noise of dishes being slammed around trailed out the door, followed quickly by an angry buzzing that Karkat couldn't identify. Kurloz made some form of hand signal at her, and she nodded with a knife rack of teeth and motioned at the door with her thumb. Whatever had been communicated made Kurloz's lips pull downward, turning his painted mime's smile into a pinched snarl. He stormed into the room, closing the door solidly behind him. When Karkat made to follow he was smacked with the woman's cane, hard, on the back of the knees.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Karkat all but snarled at her. She was under Sollux's jurisdiction, so he felt much less pressed to be polite. She had also smuggled her weapon in under his nose, and that was more than enough to permanently raise his ire at her.

"I wouldn't suggest going in there right now," she sing-songed him, grin still plastered firmly in its place. "His Majesty is having a princely temper tantrum and he doesn't typically care where or on whom his rage gets directed."

"Where's his moirail?"Karkat frowned at the sounds coming within, muffled shouting coming through the walls. "Should I summon them to calm him down?"

"Nah," the teal said, "his 'moirail' isn't coming anywhere but from a pie tin. Once he gets his slime then he'll chill right the fuck out. Besides," she whacked him again," this presents exactly the sort of distraction I was hoping for."

"A distraction for what?"

"For having a word with you. Come hither and follow me!"

She strode towards the stairs without bothering to make sure he followed, but he did anyway if just to get some distance between him and the sound of bodies hitting the floor. She lead him down a level and to the end of a guest hallway, ushering him into an empty suite. He waited until she closed the door behind him before speaking up.

"If this is some way to request a pailling session, I have to say you are the worst troll at romancing that I've ever met." He couldn't repress a slight smile as she burst out cackling.

"That was not my intention, no," she said, extending a hand. "My name is Sir Terezi Pyrope, personal guard for the Makara's. I've come to understand that you are going to be the slave tending to them during our stay?"

"Yes that is the case," Karkat accepted her hand, shaking it firmly. Her thumb claw dug into his knuckle, and Karkat met her challenge by refusing to let go. "Does Sir Pyrope have issues with it? If so I would advise bringing it up with his Lordship Ampora as I can't make any decisions for him."

Her grip finally relented and they released hands. Karkat brought his injured knuckle to his mouth and sucked on it, gazing coyly at Terezi as he did so. She chuckled again, only this time it was more subdued and she dropped the grin from her face. Down to business it was, then.

He straightened his posture and squared his shoulders, presenting himself as a ready challenge. The point was moot on the fact Terezi was blind, but Karkat felt there was no harm posturing at the very least for himself. She smiled sharply at him nonetheless, correcting her own posture as if to match him. As the silence stretched he cleared his throat impatiently, an obvious demand to be taken seriously. She placed both hands on the dragon head of her cane, leaning forward in a way that communicated that she did not underestimate him.

"I feel confident in saying that you are no regular slave," she sniffed the air pointedly, "you're purpose is for breeding, isn't it?"

"What of it?"

"Yet you've never been bred, or at least you haven't laid any eggs." Her grin turned nasty at his intake of breath. "It's not because your eggs are defective, since you smell healthy and, pardon me for saying, rather fertile. My hypothesis is that since you aren't used for pumping out eggs you must mean something more to dear old Dualscar."

Karkat almost hissed at her, defenses rising at how eerily accurate her guesses were. He refrained from demanding who she had working for her on the inside, since that would be a plain confirmation and he wasn't that stupid. He forced himself to breathe in deeply before releasing it through his nose, composing himself against her.

"How fucking charitable," Karkat started, "that would think that such a high caste troll would consider something like me as worthwhile. He's not interested in breeding me himself, I am Eridan's and he has very little interest in having descendants right now."

"If that were the case then he wouldn't be 'lending' you out as he is," Terezi interjected. "There are only a handful of mutants in the breeding market and yes, I've checked. That means you're valuable stock and not some idle plaything to be tossed around for entertainment. Therefore you've been borrowed to my majesties with a distinct purpose in mind. Stop me if I'm wrong."

Karkat opened his mouth to retort but found the words stuck around the idea of being referred to as a possession; which was technically true but it still stung to hear from an outside party; and Terezi grinned at her victory. She pressed into his space as if she were going to clamp her jaws on his jugular and strangulate the truth from him. Karkat had been trained to withstand interrogation, however, and he wasn't going to shame himself by giving her what she wanted. He pressed right back into her space until he had to glare down to see her face.

"You're so far off the goddamn mark it's left the stratosphere, flying through space towards the burning pile of steaming shit we call a sun."

"So say, and it must be true," Terezi said but relaxed into her own space. Karkat followed suit, stepping back and away.

"I need to return to my post," he said as a way to excuse himself, and he reached for the handle to the door. She didn't speak until he was into the hallway, instead waiting until he was clear of the portal to address him a last time.

"I don't care if you're trying to con information out of them," she said and Karkat nearly tripped on his own feet in shock. "You've drawn your own conclusions from your brief interaction with the two but listen when I say that I've known them for sweeps and you've figured out jack shit about them."

She looked serious now, and Karkat wanted to shoot her down and deny it. Something in her stance, in the downward tilt of her sharp chin pleaded with him to keep silent and let her say her piece.

"I will not speak against my Prince, but I won't be able to sleep during the day if I don't try somehow." She looked as though she was battling with herself for a moment, her frown twisting further down in a single corner before her eyebrows furrowed in conviction. She looked back up at him and he could swear that she was meeting her eyes with his own.

"You have your ideas and they're wrong. Do not let your guard down and don't do anything that would compromise your position here. If you listen to what your mind tells you what you want and not what reason cautions you against, then no one will be able to help you."

Cryptic warning delivered she slammed her door shut, leaving Karkat in the hallway alone with his own confusion. It was too goddamn early for this shit.


End file.
